


Another Valentine's Day

by fuckingcommissions



Series: Tokyo Mew Mew Commissions [29]
Category: Tokyo Mew Mew
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 02:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckingcommissions/pseuds/fuckingcommissions
Summary: Taruto has special plans this year.





	Another Valentine's Day

It was Valentine's Day, a very special day for couples everywhere, but Taruto and Pudding couldn't help but see it as an even more special day for them. After all, that had been the day that they had gone on their first date, and had been together and nearly inseparable ever since.

It was their ninth Valentine's Day together, and he had special plans for her that day. She knew where they were going and some of the things that they were doing, but as for the full extent of the day, there were going to be some surprises. In fact, he had one surprise planned that was so huge he was sure she wouldn't be able to guess it.

Before they left, she presented her chocolate to him, which, of course, he sampled before they left, and it was just as good as, if not better than, he always remembered. Lots of girls made homemade chocolate, but he doubted anyone's tasted as good as Pudding's did. Once they were on their way, she talked to him happily, completely unsuspecting of what awaited her at their destination.

Taruto thought it was only fitting that they go to the amusement park that they had been to on their first date. They both still loved such things, of course, and it was the perfect location for what he had in mind. It was nostalgic, it was sentimental, and it was fun; there was no place better, at least not that he could think of.

When they arrived, she practically ran to one of her favorite rides and he followed her, neither of them able to contain their excitement. They would likely always be children at heart, yet another one of the things that drew them together. It was never hard for anyone to figure out just how perfect they were for each other, and on this day, he was sure that anyone who saw them together would be able to see that they were madly in love. Of course, that was the nature of the holiday.

Hand in hand, they ran from one ride to the next, and when they had to wait in long lines, she could barely stop talking and kept him entertained during the entire wait. He couldn't blame her for her enthusiasm, but he was showing his own differently. If he allowed himself to let his excitement show too much, he might not be able to contain himself, and then he would end up spoiling everything.

Finally, after they had ridden several of her favorite rides, he suggested that they go on the Ferris wheel. There had been a time when she had hated riding it, claiming that it went too slow and was much too boring for her, but at some point over the years, they had both realized just how romantic it was, and would always make a point to ride it before they left the amusement park. Today, it took no convincing to get her to go for a ride.

When they got there, he stepped aside, talking quietly with the man running the ride. Pudding tried to eavesdrop but he shooed her away, insisting that she would like the surprise a lot more if it was a surprise. In the end, it only took him a thousand yen to convince the man to do what he needed done, and he and Pudding were ushered into a cart and began to make their ascent.

“I'm having so much fun today!” she cried, as they rose up over the park. “It's been one of the best Valentine's Days ever!”

“Really?” he asked. “I'm glad, I always try to do better every year. I thought it would be hard to top some of them though.”

“It's just hard to pick a favorite,” she replied, “because I'm always with you and that makes them perfect.”

Rather than reply to her, he pulled her in for a long kiss, one that lasted until they reached the very top of the circle, slowing to a stop. This was not uncommon, as the ride gave everyone a good view, and they pulled apart to look at the amusement park below them. Pudding pointed things she recognized out excitedly, just as she did every time, even though nothing had really changed since the first time they had ridden the Ferris Wheel.

After a long time of this, though, she said, “Hey, haven't we been up here longer than usual? I think we have been. Do you think the ride is broken or something?” She didn't sound completely worried; mostly she sounded curious.

She had been looking around the window, facing away from him while she asked this and he approached her, hugging her from behind. “Actually, this is what I was talking to the man about,” he replied. “I arranged for us to have some extra time up here, so that the two of us could have a little bit of privacy.”

She turned around within his embrace to face him, grinning. “You naughty alien!” she said with a giggle. “You'd really plan to take advantage of a young maiden in such a public place like this? I'm surprised at you!”

“Oh, I'm sure my naughty little monkey would like that,” he replied teasingly. “But that's going to have to wait until later, I think. I actually had other reasons for wanting to get you alone up here.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” she asked, cocking her head. He smiled gently, releasing her from his embrace and stepping back, hands resting on her shoulders.

“I have something that I want to ask you,” he said. He then dropped his hands from her shoulders and dropped to one knee, removing a velvet box from his pocket. She gasped and he would have thought it was theatrical from how it sounded, but he knew from the look on her face that she was genuinely surprised by what was happening.

“Lady Bu-Ling Huang,” he said, addressing her with her true family name, “Years and years ago I had the chance to meet you in a way that can't be anything but fate. Anyone could have been sent on my mission to earth and any human could have been the one to fight me, but it was you, and despite being on different sides, you always treated me like you wanted to be friends.

“It's no surprise that I fell in love with you, and I've had some of the best years of my life being with you. I never want those days to end, and I never want to be with anyone else. Will you marry me?” He opened the box then, revealing a beautiful engagement ring that had several small diamonds encircling a yellow topaz. From the moment he saw it, he knew that it was the perfect ring for her.

Tears welled up in Pudding's eyes as she stared down at the ring, and though she looked happy for a moment, she soon looked conflicted. “But what about my other engagement?” she asked. “What about Yuebin?”

“You think I didn't consider that?” he asked with an easy smile. “I've already spoken with both of them and I have their blessing to marry you. There's nothing standing in our way anymore.”

~X~

_He hated lying to Pudding, but he knew that if he told her where he was really going, she would insist on coming along or even suggest he not do this. Not to mention the fact that, if he failed, he didn't want her to know and, either way, he wanted his proposal to be a surprise. He didn't want to wait any longer; he wanted to know that Pudding would be his and was not willing to let anyone stand between them anymore._

_And so he told Pudding he needed to go away to help Pai take care of something on their old planet, and made a trip to China, searching for her father. She vaguely knew where he was, and Taruto, relying on his memories of their conversations about that and questions he asked the locals, began his search for her father. It took him a lot of time and searching, but one day he happened upon the man and Yuebin training in the mountains._

_They were, naturally, surprised to see him there and asked if everything was okay at home, if there was an emergency with Pudding that had caused him to come out. They were growing more concerned every day with how close the couple was, and he was sure that they knew he had no intention of leaving her to marry another man. Now, he had come to make that fact known._

_He kneeled before the man respectfully, wanting to make it clear that he was not trying to be assertive. “Taren Huang,” he said, “I've come to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. I love Pudd- ah, Bu-ling with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with her and I'd like your blessing to marry her.”_

“ _I don't know why you would bother coming to me with such a ridiculous question,” replied the older man. “You know good and well that my daughter is already betrothed to Yuebin. I allowed you to date her only because I wanted her to have fun while she was young, but I never thought it would go this far. I see my mistake now, and you need to stop courting my daughter.”_

“ _But, sir-”_

“ _I'm not going to change my mind,” he replied stubbornly. “This arrangement existed long before you came into my daughter's life and I won't allow some outsider to stick their nose where it doesn't belong.”_

“ _Sir, I want you to listen to me, and I won't be interrupted this time.” Though her father looked ready to say something, he held his tongue, watching Taruto with amusement, waiting for whatever it was he had to say. “You know about how my people wanted to attack earth and take it for our own. Even out here, you must have heard about how bad the situation got. I was central to the mission._

“ _When I met Pudding, we were meant to fight each other. But she treated me as a friend and wanted to show me that it was possible to coexist. She showed me that my race and her race didn't have to fight each other, and it was then that I began to fall in love with her. I could tell we had something special even back then, and when she and I got together, I knew that I was right and that I would never want to be with anyone else but her._

“ _Together, everything's been better for me. When she introduced me to her siblings, I was afraid that they wouldn't accept me, but then I got the chance to get to know them and they were all so nice to me. It was like my family was growing, and that's how everything felt with her. All of her brothers warmed up to me immediately and they feel just like having my own brothers._

“ _Heicha took more work, she was really shy, but even she came around eventually and I adore her, like the little sister I've never had. I love her and I love her brothers and I love your daughter, and I consider them to be a part of my family and I know they feel the same way about me. I know that her siblings would gladly accept me as part of the family, and what's more, I know that Pudding would choose love over filial piety. I know that she would choose me over Yuebin or what you planned for her without asking._

“ _I don't want to have to hurt anyone, but I'll fight for Pudding if I have to!” he said at last. He had not realized just how passionate his speech had become, but he had gotten so into it that a battle aura had formed around him, his energy crackling almost dangerously. It had not been his intention to start a fight, but he loved her so much that he would do that if he needed to._

_As for Pudding's father, the amused look had completely faded from his face. Instead, he and Yuebin both stared at Taruto intently, no longer as if they were sizing him up and looking for flaws, but now with a new found respect._

“ _I don't know if I'll ever agree with you, and I don't know if Yuebin will agree with my decision,” said her father at last, “but you're genuine and I can tell. You won't back down, and you're strong. I know this is a fight I wouldn't win, and I know you can protect my daughter. There's nothing I can do to stand in the way of your marriage to her, so the best thing I can do now is give in. You have my permission to marry Bu-ling.”_

~X~

Pudding listened to his story, still teary-eyed, and when he was done, she softly said, “You were right about me. I would have chosen you over my father if I had to, but I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad the two of you were able to make peace and that you didn't have to fight anybody.”

“I would do anything for you,” he said, “but I wouldn't want to do anything that would make you unhappy in the process.”

“I love you so much,” she said. “I'm so happy that you were able to get my father to approve and without a real fight. The answer is yes, of course I'll marry you!” The tears in her eyes began to fall as he took her hand and slid the beautiful engagement ring onto it, and she pulled him into a tight hug just as the Ferris Wheel began to move once more.

~X~

The rest of the day at the amusement park was just as fun as it always had been, but was different somehow. They both carried the knowledge that they were going to be married soon, and that changed everything yet truly changed nothing between them; they were still themselves and they were still madly in love. But Pudding had a ring on her finger now, and that made all the difference even where there wasn't a difference in their behavior.

After they left, they both decided that it would be a good idea to go to Cafe Mew Mew, both for a snack and to share the good news with her friends. Later, they would tell her siblings and then spread the news to the other aliens, but first and foremost, Pudding would be telling her close friends about her engagement.

The other four were all working that day, but the cafe would close early so that they would have the chance to go out on their dates. Ryou hadn't wanted to close early, since the cafe was such a popular destination and would get a lot of business on Valentine's Day, but between the fit Ichigo pitched and Keiichiro's insistence, he caved, and all of the girls would be able to have a romantic night out.

She could barely contain her excitement as they made their way there, wanting to tell someone right away. It took all she had to keep it in and not shout to every person they passed that she was engaged. This was the happiest day of her life to date, made even happier by the knowledge that better ones were to come, that there would be a wedding day, there would be children, there would be an entire life of 'happiest days', each one topping the one before.

When they made it to the cafe, she tried to keep calm long enough to be seated. She wanted everyone to be there to hear it, and kept her hand out of view as Lettuce showed them to their seats. She had one arm around Taruto and he had his arm around her, holding each other tight. The excitement was palpable in the air, but no one could yet tell what the excitement was over.

She requested that Lettuce get everyone around, which took some time considering how busy it was, but soon all of the Mews, as well as Ryou and Keiichiro, were at their table, waiting for the announcement.

“We're getting married!” she cried, when she couldn't keep it in anymore. She flaunted her ring then, and immediately Ichigo, Mint, and Lettuce grabbed at her hand, each trying to get the better view and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over it. Zakuro did not fuss over her, but she still offered a congratulatory smile.

“Well, it's about time,” Mint said at last. “You two have only been together forever, I mean.”

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Lettuce cried, tearing up. “You two are going to be so happy, I just know it.”

“We have to start planning!” Ichigo declared. “If you two are going to do it soon, anyway, and I really think you should do it soon. It's almost spring and a spring weding will be so romantic!”

“I'm always available to make the cake,” offered Keiichiro.

“And I can set you up with plenty of venues,” added Ryou, “but something tells me the two of you already know where you want to have it.”

“Are you going to have it here?” asked Ichigo, getting even more excited, if that was even possible. She was almost as excited as the happy couple.

“I thought that might be the best place,” Pudding replied, grinning. “And everyone here is going to be in the wedding, too!” They talked more about plans for a while, until their snack was done and it grew close to time for the cafe to close up. The others were in and out of the conversation, as Keiichiro had to return to baking and the girls had to return to waitressing, but for once, Ichigo ended up doing less work than Mint as she couldn't tear herself away from Pudding and Taruto for long.

Soon enough, however, it was time for them to head home. They had a lot more romantic plans for the night and they still had quite a few people to share the happy news with.

 


End file.
